First Corinthians Letter

1505 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Life and ministry of Apostle Paul

First Corinthians offers us as readers a window to the life of the early Christian church. Through it we can glimpse both the strengths and the weaknesses of this small group in a great city of the ancient world, men and women who had accepted the good news of Christ and were now trying to realize in their lives the implications of their baptism. Paul, who had founded the community and continued to look after it as a father, responds both to the questions addressed to him and to the situations of which he had been informed. In doing so, he reveals much about himself, his teaching, and the way in which he conducted his work of apostleship. Some things are puzzling because we have the correspondence only in one direction. For the person studying this letter, it seems to raise as many questions as it answers, but without it our knowledge of church life in the middle of the first century would be lacking very much. The …show more content…

First Corinthians is a letter of exhortation and pastoral counsel. In formulating and supporting his appeals and instructions, Paul invokes scripture, specifically Christian traditions, saying attributed to Jesus, his own apostolic authority and example, and also conventional practices and wisdom. In addition, he reinforces his arguments with reprimands, irony, threats, and praise. Paul urges his readers to reflect on what it means to have been called by God from their pagan past into a new life “in Christ Jesus.” First Corinthians shows how the apostle’s missionary and pastoral experiences both required and nurtured his theological reflection. The result of this reasoned call for the Corinthian Christians to understand the faith they profess and to become agents of God’s love in the world. (Harper Collins Study Bible pages

Show More
Related

  • PAUL'S THORN in the FLESH

    1497 Words  | 3 Pages

    Brown Trail Church of Christ. Gleanings from the Corinthian Letters, 36th Annual Fort Worth Lectures, 90-93. Brown Trail Church of Christ, 2013.

    Read More

  • Galatians Bible Argument

    2136 Words  | 5 Pages

    In this opening chapter, Paul begins with a formal introduction of himself. He asserts the source from whom he obtained his apostolic call and ministry from- the risen Christ and “God the Father” (v.1). He follows with a stern rebuke of the Galatian Christians who have allowed themselves to be duped into to embracing the heretical teachings promulgated by the Judaizers. A. Salutation 1:1-5

    Read More

  • Paul's letter to the Galatians

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    Aquinas, St. Thomas. COMMENTARY on SAINT PAUL'S EPISTLE to the GALATIANS. Trans. F. R. Larcher. Albany: Magi Books, 1996.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Corinthians 2:1-17

    2806 Words  | 6 Pages

    In this passage of the second letter to the Corinthians, Paul addresses several concerns. He is addressing the situation of a man who has sinned not only against himself, but against the Corinthian Church as well. He explains why he wrote a letter rather than bringing sorrow upon them. Paul is sensitive to the Lord’s leading, and in love, writes to the church encouraging them to discipline this man in love for the purpose of restoring him. He urges the Corinthians to be obedient and love the man through forgiving and encouraging him. Paul shares with them his trust in the Lord for the outcome of this matter and how burdened he was for restoration to take place. He warns them of the need to not allow Satan a foothold through this matter. Finally, Paul puts the focus on Christ; for it is in Him that we are adequate thereby becoming His fragrance to others.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Paul's First Letter To The Corinthians

    1573 Words  | 4 Pages

    After his conversion to Christianity, Paul traveled throughout the Roman Empire and preached the Gospel, similar to Jesus’ own ministry across Galilee. Paul’s teachings were more focused on the community and the relationships of its members with each other and with non-Christians, whereas Jesus’ teachings were geared towards the individual and his/her personal relationship to God. Despite this discrepancy in their doctrines, Paul’s teachings remain consistent with those of Jesus. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul’s teachings, such as unity in the community and love for others, echo the teachings of Jesus as depicted in the Gospel of Mark and Matthew. Paul essentially reiterates the teachings of Jesus, and applies them to the lives of the people he preaches to, so that they may understand Jesus’ teachings and embrace Christianity.

    Read More

  • Does 1 Corinthians 1 Teach Sexism and Devalue the Female Gender?

    1443 Words  | 3 Pages

    “I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” 1 Corinthians 11:3 seems sexist and devaluing to the female gender at first because Paul emphasizes that man is the head of woman just as Christ is the head of man. By studying Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, we find that this emphasis explains why the feminist liberation happening in the Corinthian church at that time found to be a problem. The direct issue came to the disobedience of the women of the church neglecting to cover their heads while praying and prophesying. The underlying concern was why they continued to do so and the drastic changes it was causing the gender roles of the church. Through experience and contact with different customs and through the inspiration for liberation, Paul felt the need to approach the Corinthian church about his distress with the women. From the Old Testament to the New Testament to today, customs and traditions have changed and developed. Today, we cannot read this passage and understand Paul’s point without theological interpretation. The issue is not whether man is superior to woman or vice versa. The problem lies with how women disobeyed and ultimately violated their role as a woman. This paper will conclude that through the analysis of customs in Paul’s day, we see that he was not being sexist, but emphasizing the need for men and women to perform their given roles in Christ.

    Read More

  • On the Categories of Love in Toni Morrison’s Literature

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    Morrison, Toni. Love. New York: Knopf, 2003. Print. “Bible Gateway Passage: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – New International Version.”

    Read More

  • 1 Corinthians

    1229 Words  | 3 Pages

    1 Corinthians 5 - A "brother" (v. 11) in the church at Corinth was having sexual relations with his father's wife. Paul described the unusual nature of this sin when he said that it was "not so much as named among the gentiles, that one should have his father's wife" (v. 1). This man's behavior was wrong, but also wrong was the tolerance of his behavior by the Corinthian church. Paul condemned these sins, and the necessary corrections were subsequently made (2 Cor. 2:6; 7:11). But what was the spiritual condition of the fornicator before his repentance? If he remained saved, why did Paul command the Corinthians to withdraw their association from him (vs. 4, 5, 9, 11, 13)? Did the fornicator remain saved while engaging in sin? The "once-saved-always-saved" proponent will have to say yes. However, the Bible says differently. By comparing the list of sins in 1 Corinthians 5:11 with the list in chapter 6:9, 10, we learn that a Christian can commit the same sins that can be committed by a non-Christian. We also learn the consequence of these sins. Paul said that those who do such things "shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9, 10). This means that before his repentance and forgiveness, the Corinthian fornicator had lost his access to heaven - he had fallen from grace.

    Read More

  • The Church of the Trinity

    890 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chapter four addresses the divisions within the Corinthian church, such as jealousy, quarrelling and their defective view of the church. The apostle Paul links their view of the church to church leadership stating “If they had a true view of the church, they would have a true view of the leaders of the church” (p79). The situation was that their view was lower for the church and higher for the leaders thus they were boasting about the leaders. Paul’s view was that the Corinthian church was spoon feed Christians not maturing as they should. Paul’s reference to addressing the church as worldly did not mean they were unregenerate because they did possess the Spirit but they were not being spiritual, not being controlled by the Holy Spirit. He goes on to say “They have experienced new birth by the Spirit but have remained babies in Christ; they have not yet become mature in Christ” (p80) The Apostle most likely would express the same opinion about many Church congregations today. Many churches are elated with their church growth, but it is often superficial. If the church does not offer a real growth opportunity the journey is short lived. The church fills up with Christians not participating in the sanctification process. As with many churches today the Corinthians had a self-serving attitude about themselves and their church. The Corinthians would have never behaved the way they did if they had a higher view of the church and what it stood for and a lesser view of the leaders. Paul outlines three visions of the church “each of which has important implications” (p82). The first metaphor is agricultural: God’s field (v9) 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God...

    Read More

  • 1 Corinthians

    1893 Words  | 4 Pages

    Paul the Apostle is the central figure in many New Testament writings. Many historians have attributed fourteen New Testament letters to Paul’s writing; seven of these letters are uncontested meaning historians are sure that Paul wrote them, the remaining seven are contested. Paul was not always a Christian; in fact, he persecuted Christians before Christ came and temporarily blinded him. Upon seeing Christ, Paul devoted his life to Christianity and set out to spread the teachings of Christ. Scholars often credit Paul’s leadership to the ability of the Church to become Hellenistic in one generation. Paul also answered specific worries and questions that his converters may have had in many of his writings; one of these writings is 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians, Paul set out to deal with the many believers in Corinth who are divided into the followings of Paul or Apollos rather than Christianity as a whole. The converts of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12-14 were divided during times of worship because of jealousy invoked by the spiritual gifts received from the “Spirit”; the worships and the church became a place to boast who is closest to God, instead of a place of worship, interpretation, and love. In 1 Corinthians 14:26-33, Paul set guidelines in times of worship to heal the divide among his converts present in 1 Corinthians 12-14.

    Read More

  • My Personal Worldview Paper

    1773 Words  | 4 Pages

    “First, there is the call to be a Christian. Second, for each individual there is a specific call—a defining purpose or mission, a reason for being. Every individual is called of God to respond through service in the world. Third, there is the call that we face each day in response to the multiple demands on our lives—our immediate duties and responsibilities” (Smith, ...

    Read More

  • The Pauline Epistles I: The book of Romans

    2321 Words  | 5 Pages

    In these letters Paul provides the most complete statement of the doctrine in the New Testament. If want to know the ins and outs of Christianity, let people check out the writings of Paul to the Romans. So says a notable interpreter. Because of that this note on Romans should earnestly by every Christian, as very important and contains the full spiritual object.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Jesus And Paul

    752 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jesus and Paul are two crucial characters in the New Testament. They both depict the Gospel on which Christianity is based upon, but there is debate about rather these two versions of the Gospel are complementary. Scholars like George Shaw claim that Paul is “anti-Christian,” and he “produced a fantastic theology” (Shaw 415-416). On the other hand, I believe that even though Jesus and Paul may present the Gospel different at times, they are still advocating the same religion. Through the understanding of the Gospels and Paul’s letters it is clear that Jesus and Paul have the same underlining goals and values.

    Read More

  • The Resurrection of the Dead

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    As with most other Pauline attributed documents, 1 Corinthians is believed to be a single document that addresses salient topics and rationalizes Paul’s view of faithfulness to Christ with Corinth citizens. The newly founded church of Corinth was in correspondence with Paul requesting his answers to questions they posed on topics ranging from marriage to the resurrection of the dead; the latter being one of the most highlighted in 1 Corinthians. Paul’s assurance of resurrection illustrates a concern for Corinth as he admonishes their disbelief in resurrection of the dead with a series of explanations as to why such doubt would render the faith of Christ “in vain”. Given the context of the time, Paul’s correspondence with Corinth clearly had an original intent of educating and admonishing Corinth on their views on resurrection. However, modern Christianity in its many forms has established an interpretation that slightly strays from its original inscription. Regardless, Paul’s letters not only shaped the ideals of Corinthians believers but influenced the Christian ideals of post mortem resurrection or eternal life as well.

    Read More

  • Biblical Comparture Analysis

    492 Words  | 1 Pages

    Understanding the growth of the Christian church and the reason why God used the Corinthians during this time demonstrates why it is important to understand the historical context through the use of a

    Read More

More about First Corinthians Letter

Open Document